Rolando McClain: I felt like I wanted to kill somebody

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on October 31, 2013, 12:28 AM EDT

Getty Images

It’s been five months since linebacker Rolando McClain told Baltimore Ravens president Ozzie Newsome he was retiring from the NFL. McClain had been given a second opportunity by the Ravens just a month earlier when the team signed him to a contract following his release from the Oakland Raiders.

McClain was arrested just 10 days after signing with the Ravens for disorderly conduct and decided to walk away from the game soon after. According to Seth Wickersham of ESPN.com, McClain has returned to Tuscaloosa, Ala. and is working to get his life together off the field.

McClain is going to class at the University of Alabama as he is working towards a degree in family financial planning and is working to stay in shape. After being selected by the Raiders in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, McClain immediately had friends and family come to him asking for financial assistance. He had signed a five-year deal for $40 million with $23 million guaranteed and people began asking for a piece of the pie.

McClain said friends from his hometown of Decatur began asking for money telling him he wouldn’t be where he is now without them. That led McClain to spend nearly $600,000 over a six-month span in trying to take care of those close to him.

McClain began to lose interest and football and no longer enjoyed playing the game. He became more and more frustrated with the game and the constant requests for money from back home. It led McClain to believe he was on the verge of doing something horrible.

“I was feeling like Aaron Hernandez or something,” McClain said, “like I just wanted to kill somebody.”

He felt he could very likely be headed toward the same fate as Hernandez of being led away in handcuffs and placed behind bars for an act he was going to commit. It’s what led him to leave the Ravens and return to Alabama.

McClain said he will “probably’ try to return to the NFL next season. If he does, the Ravens still retain his rights. McClain appeared in 41 games over three seasons for the Raiders and recorded 246 tackles over that span.

Takes a big man to admit you have something wrong with you and seek out help. As for these leeches, Rolando has to find it within himself to let go of people, say NO, and probably stay FAR away from Alabama. Its hard to break away from the one thing you’ve known your whole life, but to get better he has to do it.

Yeah he stole money from the Raiders as did most players in the past but I know how it feels when people always have their hands out as if they’re owed something but as a Raider fan I’m Rooting for him

Comparing himself to Hernandez is pretty dumb. But if he really didn’t like playing, the is the kind of guy that either gets himself seriously injured (half effort), or injures someone else seriously doing something dirty.

I know Raiders fans don’t want to hear it (probably Ravens fans either), but this could be looked at as a great decision a few years down the line. I never really caught enough Raiders games to get a feel for how good he was at the mental aspect of the game (not like the Raiders get a lot of national TV time), but he had all the talent in the world, and that can’t be questioned. If you don’t really want to be there, talent can be useless, but you can usually tell if a guy is making the proper reads and going to the proper spots (even if he’s not making the plays). So Raiders fans may tell me i’m wrong, and the guy is a total waste.

But he’s still pretty young, he could come back at 24-25, still have all his talent, get his head on straight, and still have a solid career. If the Ravens don’t keep him (which is very possible, they took the chance on him last year and got burned, might not want to do it again), he should be able to pick which team he wants to go to. I would have to think he has SOME of the $23 million left, so he should be able to pick the best situation for himself, even if those choices are limited because of his past

Nice to see him return home to Alabama, where all of his problems stem from.

tubad4ya says:Oct 31, 2013 6:00 AM

I can’t help but empathize with McClain’s frustration. The culture of entitlement that drove him crazy is doing the same thing to all of us. This widespread cancer of a mentality believes it is owed everything for contributing nothing.

djstat says:Oct 31, 2013 6:33 AM

I respect this guy for admitting he had to get his life together and walking away from the game. The question will be when/if he comes back will he truly be turned around.

The athletes are are all attacked for money by their hometown crew. It’s easy to say as a bystander, “if just tell them NO”. Yet you have never been in their shoes.

seeing the problem is one thing, getting out of it is a different story. Glad to see McClain pulled himself out of it in time.
Good luck recovery man. Hope you’ll get your life back in order and back in the game if that is your desire.